IIT Bombay is divided after student Sahil Wakode’s suicide. His family accuses professors of casteist harassment and demands their arrest, while faculty forums and student groups defend the professors, framing the issue as academic integrity.
Family Alleges ‘Murder,’ Demands Arrests
Visiting the Mumbai Police Crime Branch office in Bandra on Tuesday, Sahil’s parents, Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, demanded the immediate arrest of named faculty members Professor Suryanarayana Doolla and Shireesh Kedare. “I came to the Crime Branch today. My request to everyone is to complete the investigation as soon as possible and arrest those who are involved, namely Shireesh Kedare and Suryanarayana Doolla. He was a smart student. Cracking the IIT Advanced exam is not a trivial matter. You can look at his All India rank. They will accuse him of anything wrong; they will say that he cheated. My request is to arrest them. He was suffering. I explained to him that my son should tolerate IIT a little, and after this, his whole life would be good. I made a mistake by telling him this,” said Ravindra Wakode, father of Sahil Wakode.
His father alleged that Sahil was subjected to targeted mental torture and casteist slurs, stating, “Yes, Sahil told me with names. He was harassed by being told that he belonged to a lower caste. Professor Doolla said this. Right now, the Crime Branch inquiry is underway. They just took my statement and informed me that the investigation is ongoing. But my demand is that they should arrest them. He wasn’t instigated; he was tortured. It wasn’t suicide; it was murder. They were taunting him about his caste.”
Sahil’s mother questioned the disproportionate mental strain faced by students from marginalized backgrounds at premier institutes, expressing regret for advising her son to tolerate the hostile environment. “I have lost my child. I know the pain I am going through. Please give justice to my son. Please ensure justice for the atrocities committed against him. Why is it that Dalit students are the ones committing suicide? We supported him mentally, telling him, ‘Your future is bright, son; just endure this’—that was our mistake. If we had taken him away that day, my child would be alive today. When we went to visit him on the 13th, inside his room, he told me, ‘Papa, I am being tortured a bit; they are hurling casteist slurs at me.’ We offered him moral support. That was a mistake on our part,” said Sonali Wakode, mother of Sahil Wakode.
Despite her pain, Sonali expressed confidence in the ongoing probe: “I trust the Crime Branch. I have full faith in the administration and in the Constitution. My child will get justice.”
The family’s legal counsel dismissed claims that campus protests were unanimous in supporting faculty, alleging that external supporters were brought in to manufacture solidarity. “False propaganda is being spread. The solidarity protest that took place in support of Professor Doolla—there wasn’t a single professor involved in it. It consisted entirely of people brought in from outside. An attempt was made to create the impression that Professor Doolla is a very good person and that people ought to support him. In reality, neither students nor professors support him; in fact, if students were to support him, they would have done so from day one. Instead, they have been the ones protesting most vehemently against him, demanding his suspension and termination,” he said.
Faculty and Students Rally in Support of Professor
Meanwhile, hundreds of students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay staged a demonstration on the institute’s campus on Tuesday in support of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was recently relieved from the post of Dean of Student Affairs amid the ongoing inquiry into a student’s death by suicide.
The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum also staged a campus march in support of Professor Doolla. The forum asserted that Doolla was simply fulfilling his duty as an invigilator when he reported an incidence of “academic malpractice” involving unauthorized smartphone usage in line with Senate-approved guidelines.
Professor Doolla Was Following Rules, Says Faculty Forum President
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch investigation remains active. IIT Bombay Faculty Forum president Professor Dr Rajkumar S Pant also backed Professor Suryanarayana Doolla amid the investigation into the death by suicide of student Sahil Ravindra Wakode, saying Doolla acted as per institutional rules after seeing the student use a mobile phone during an examination. The faculty forum president said that Sahil had never made any complaint to the SC Cell at the college regarding alleged cast discrimination.
Speaking to ANI in a detailed interview, Pant said Doolla had only been relieved of his administrative duties as Dean of Administrative Affairs amid the ongoing investigation and continued to remain a teaching faculty member at IIT Bombay. “Professor Doolla is not suspended as a professor of IIT Bombay, and he is still a teaching faculty member in our institution,” Professor Pant said.
He said the Faculty Forum would not comment in detail on the incident as the matter had already been reported and was under investigation, but maintained that Doolla had followed the prescribed procedure when he saw Sahil allegedly using unfair means during the examination. “Our only point is that we are teachers, and we are discharging our duties as mandated by the institute while following institute procedures. Professor Doolla did the same. He was the Dean of Student Affairs before taking up his current position as Dean of Academic Affairs. So, to expect that a person of his nature—who is known to be very helpful to students—would do this is unreasonable. There are some situations where one has to act firmly, and he acted firmly as per the rules. But I am personally convinced that he is not the kind of person who would indulge in these kinds of acts,” he said.
Professor Pant said that IIT Bombay has a functional SC/ST Cell for students from the concerned communities to raise complaints and grievances, but Sahil Wakode had not approached the cell with any allegation against any professor. “Like every institute, we have a dedicated SC/ST cell for the welfare of students of that particular category… I spoke to the institute’s Deputy Director, Professor Ravindra Gudi, about it, and he confirmed to me that the SC/ST cell issued a notice—stating that there was absolutely no attempt by the late Sahil to approach the cell over the last three or four months. No complaint was recorded by him—forget about a formal complaint; he had not even approached the SC/ST cell for anything He however said he had no first-hand information to confirm or deny allegations that Professor Doolla had made caste-based remarks against Sahil. “There is no first-hand account of the incident where someone has seen or heard Professor Doolla using caste remarks against Sahil, so I cannot confirm or deny the allegation,” he said.
“I see no merit in this claim. Still, I do not want to comment further on what has been reported. There is an FIR, and the law will take its own course. I think the Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating, so we have nothing to comment on that matter. The norms of society and the institute are very clear that we cannot tolerate cheating. Now, if a faculty member sees someone misusing facilities and resorting to unfair means, taking no action would be unfair to the majority of students who do not cheat.”
Pant also stressed the need to look at the academic and emotional pressure faced by students, saying they were among the best students in the country and that institutions needed to consider ways to reduce pressure on them. “These students are like our own children, and we understand that there is a tremendous pressure on them to perform better, especially from their parents,” he said.
He said institutions should also examine how the pressure on students could be reduced while ensuring that they were supported during their academic journey. Pant said the Faculty Forum was standing behind Doolla while the allegations were being investigated, referring to the principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
Student’s Perspective on Allegations and Protests
Further defending Doolla, a student said that while cheating was wrong, the allegations against Professor Suryanarayana Doolla were “completely baseless”, adding that he had never experienced caste-based discrimination on campus. Expressing grief over Wakode’s death, the student said, “It felt very bad that we lost a younger brother.”
“I agree that he cheated and that was wrong. But what happened with Doolla sir is completely baseless. I can speak from my own experience — neither I nor my juniors have ever faced caste-based discrimination,” the student said.
The student also explained the disciplinary action generally taken when a student is caught cheating during an examination. “If you are caught cheating, you are suspended for that semester and failed in the course,” he said.
Speaking about the protests, the student said that the faculty members demonstrating in support of Professor Doolla were justified in expressing their position, but argued that the professor was ultimately facing an unfair situation. “Professors are protesting in Doolla sir’s favour, and that is right, but ultimately, something wrong is happening with him,” the student said.
He further said that not all students were participating in the protests because some had formed their own views about the issues involved. “Not all students are protesting because they know what is right and what is wrong,” he said.
Wider Reactions and Political Commentary
The IIT Delhi Faculty Forum also extended support to IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who has been named in an FIR following the death by suicide of 20-year-old BTech student Sahil Wakode, and raised concerns over what it described as “mob-driven behaviour” influencing decision-making at premier institutions. In a statement issued on September 21, the IIT Delhi faculty body said Doolla was “simply discharging his duties at IIT Bombay during an examination as per the institute’s guidelines”. It also said allegations against him had been made publicly “without presenting any credible evidence” and expressed solidarity with Doolla, his students and family.
Meanwhile, IIT Bombay alumnus and socio-political activist Sudheendra Kulkarni called for a thorough and impartial inquiry into the incident, while strongly questioning the registration of an FIR under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Professor Suryanarayan Doolla. Terming the loss of the young student “traumatic for the family, friends, and the entire IIT community,” Kulkarni stressed that the circumstances that led to the drastic step must be investigated impartially to prevent such tragedies across educational institutions in the future.
“This incident is most traumatic for the family, parents, and friends on the campus. A young boy ended his life, and everyone feels—first of all, the parents themselves—that there should be an impartial inquiry to find out the truth. We must work to minimise and eliminate the possibility of such suicides happening in the future, whether at IIT Bombay or any other institution across the country,” Kulkarni said.
He also emphasised the need to address academic and non-academic mental stress and insecurity among students across higher education campuses. However, Kulkarni expressed strong reservations over the booking of Professor Suryanarayan Doolla under the SC/ST Act, calling it “unjust” and warning that such actions without preliminary inquiry create a “fear psychosis” among faculty members.
“Without any inquiry or evidence coming up, a distinguished professor, Professor Suryanarayan Doolla, has been booked under the SC/ST Act, whose provisions are extremely stringent and draconian. From the facts known so far, he was simply carrying out his duties. If a teacher doing their duty can be booked under this act, the entire faculty community would be under fear psychosis,” he said.
NCP-SP leader Clyde Crasto also called for a thorough investigation and said action should be taken against anyone found responsible. Speaking to ANI, Crasto said the incident needed to be investigated in view of the allegations made by Sahil’s parents and questioned the circumstances that led to the student’s death. “The IIT Bombay incident needs to be thoroughly investigated. Action should be taken against the Dean who was just fired, because, you know, after what the parents said… There needs to be an investigation. Whether something actually happened or not, if the Dean is at fault, action should definitely be taken,” Crasto said.
“But how did this happen, why did it happen, and why is this kind of pressure being put on these kids? And if the people in these Dean positions do something wrong, the government needs to step in and take action for the students,” he added.
Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal launched a sharp attack on the Central government over student suicides in premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), alleging that more than half of such tragic deaths involve students from SC, ST, and OBC backgrounds. Citing the recent death of student Sahil Wakode, Venugopal accused the Union government of institutional discrimination and deliberate concealment of crucial data in Parliament. He claimed that despite internal communications initiated by the Ministry to gather suicide-related statistics from IITs in December, the government chose to withhold the figures to downplay the crisis, demanding full accountability and urgent corrective measures from the Modi government to safeguard students from marginalized communities.
Police Investigation and CCTV Evidence
Earlier today, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch scrutinised CCTV footage covering the examination hall, campus with the footage emerging as a key part of the ongoing investigation, a Crime Branch official said. The official clarified that the CCTV footage has not been released or shown to anyone and is currently being examined by the investigating team.
According to the Crime Branch, CCTV cameras recorded Sahil’s movements inside the examination hall between 12:30 PM and 12:45 PM on September 18. With around 15 minutes remaining for the examination to conclude, Sahil was seen bending down to look at something kept in his pocket. Subsequently, a professor questioned him and took him aside, away from the other students, according to the police.
“After leaving the examination hall, Sahil moved across the campus. He reached his hostel room at approximately 1:25 PM. He did not step out of the room thereafter,” the Crime Branch official said.
Sahil, a second-year BTech student of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found dead in his hostel room later that day. The Crime Branch is now piecing together footage from different locations on the campus to establish Sahil’s movements from the examination hall to the hostel and further examine the sequence of events preceding his death.
Security was also stepped up at the campus on Tuesday amid the tensions. IIT Bombay had earlier issued a statement describing Sahil as having been caught using a phone during an examination and alleging that he had uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT. The institute later apologised for its earlier communication and retracted its characterisations of the circumstances before the investigation was completed. The case has since been transferred to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, which is continuing its investigation. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)